Each year, 3.5 million Americans are diagnosed with skin cancers, and 20% of the entire nation's population will get skin cancer in the course of a lifetime. There are more new cases of skin cancer annually than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon. Over the past 31 years, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.
Many skin cancers can be detected by monitoring changes in skin lesions. If detected early, the 5-year survival rate of melanoma is 98%; however, that rate drops to 62% and 16% for later stages when diseases are spread regionally and distantly, respectively. About 90 percent of nonmelanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. Thus there is a need to facilitate monitoring skin lesions, particularly early detection of formation of skin lesions or changes in skin lesions.